


alya césaire, reporter extraordinaire

by beifongs



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Is a Little Shit, Alya Césaire Knows, But he also needs a hug, DJwifi my comfort hets, F/M, IDENTITY SHENANIGANS, Nino Lahiffe Knows, adrienette - Freeform, alya pov kinda, i love alya, like really this is a mess, marinette gives him said hug, marinette is going to lose it when it sets in, nino & marinette childhood best friends, no beta we die like men, she's too smart, so is nino we don't give him enough credit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27530092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beifongs/pseuds/beifongs
Summary: Alya Césaire has always wanted to know the identities of her favorite superheroes...but it doesn't mean she was ready to find out.It's crazy how much can change in a day.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Nino Lahiffe, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Comments: 31
Kudos: 179





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone! a couple notes before we begin:
> 
> \- this fic takes place over the span of one day even though it will be in multiple parts/chapters
> 
> \- miracle queen never happened, but marinette IS the guardian and adrien knows who carapace and rena rouge are
> 
> \- adrigami and lukanette haven't happened, but all four of them are very close (not super important but still)
> 
> \- they're 16/17
> 
> \- mari wears her hair down (as a civilian anyways). this isn't super important, but it's just how i imagine her as she grows older
> 
> that's it! enjoy :)

Alya Césaire wouldn’t say that her life has always been without complications and secrets—it hasn’t. She’s a student journalist who runs one of the most popular blogs in Paris, and when she’s not closely following Ladybug and Chat Noir during Akuma battles for footage, she’s fighting alongside them. From the moment she stepped into Françoise Dupont for the first time, she’s been always moving, always working, always doing _something_. 

So yes, there have been complicated times and stressful times between school and reporting and part-time superheroing. She never expected anything less. But none of that compares to how she feels right now, with the knowledge that her two best friends are the very superheroes she adores and protects Paris with. Her Marinette and her Sunshine.

Nobody told her, but nobody had to. She pieced it together slowly, with each identical pun and cat-like grin and roll of the eyes that absolutely _had_ to be Ladybug (nobody can roll their eyes quite like she can), and it was like the world as she knew it fell apart and then came together again. Of _course_ it’s them. Who else could it be?

And now, she sits pensively at her desk, waiting for her friends to arrive and wondering how on Earth she’s supposed to tell them she knows their secret identities. She’s been trying to figure that out for two weeks now, and nothing feels right (“Thanks for the pastry, girl! By the way, I know you’re Ladybug!” is definitely not going to cut it). She knows how delicate this situation is, and she absolutely cannot fuck it up, especially because Marinette and Adrien don’t even know each other’s identities.

That in and of itself is another problem entirely, and she has absolutely no brain power to deal with it until at least the afternoon. 

Nino waltzes in then, interrupting her thought process. He walks right up to her and greets her with a kiss on the cheek. “Morning, babe. How’d you sleep?”

“Good morning, honey,” she smiles warmly at him, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. “I slept fine.”

He eyes her warily, taking in her tired eyes and slumped posture. “Yeah, Als, I don’t think I believe that. You look like you haven’t slept at all.”

Yeah, that’s because she hasn’t.

“I was up writing. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine when Sunshine comes in with coffee for us.” She waves off his concern, but Nino just pulls her into his chest and presses a kiss to the top of her head.

“You should be kinder to yourself. I know you have a lot to do, but you need your sleep, babe.” He says as she melts into his touch. _God_ , Alya thinks, _I really do love him_.

She hums when he lets her go, smirking up at him slightly. “Well, I guess for _you_ I could get at least three hours tonight.”

“Not good enough.”

“Four?”

“Six hours minimum,” Nino counters, “or no date night this week.”

“What? But I’m making you watch that new horror movie with me this Friday!” Alya cannot believe the nerve of him. He’s definitely just trying to get out of watching the movie. He _hates_ horror movies. 

Nino laughs at her outburst. “And you still can if you get a full six hours tonight. I want proof, though.”

“How am I supposed to get that?”

“Screenshot the report from your fitness app tomorrow morning.”

“Fine,” she growls. “You have yourself a deal, Lahiffe.”

“Pleasure doing business with you.” he winks at her and moves forward like he’s going to kiss her, but something out of the corner of his eye stops him.

Adrien bustles through the door, carrying a tray of coffees. The blond boy has a smile on his face as he catches sight of his friends, but Alya can see that it doesn’t reach his eyes. Most days, even the more stressful ones, Adrien is able to mask how exhausted he is, both physically and emotionally. Alya and Nino both know that today must be different as Adrien rushes towards Alya and Nino, backpack barely hanging on and his clothing slightly wrinkled. He looked like a mess, and Adrien Agreste _never_ looked like a mess.

Alya glances over to find Nino already looking at her, worry etched upon his face. She wonders if maybe this has something to do with Hawkmoth or the Miraculous in general, but she knows that everything has been fairly normal as of late. And she knows that last night was Ladybug and Chat Noir’s joint patrol, which usually brings them both enough joy to last into the next school day. This was something else.

“Morning, Sunshine!” Alya greets him cheerily despite her concern. She grins at him when he passes her coffee to her, voicing her thanks. “You’re the best. Are you doing okay this morning?”

“Me? Yeah! Yeah, of course!” Adrien says hurriedly, taking his seat at the desk in front of Alya and Marinette’s. “Why do you ask?” He questions once he’s somewhat settled, turning in his chair so he can talk to Alya and Nino properly.

“You seem a little frazzled is all, dude.” Nino stares at his best friend with slightly narrowed eyes and crossed arms. “What’s going on?”

At Nino’s interrogative stance, the smile slips off of Adrien’s face. “I, um—I got into an argument with my father this morning. That’s why I’m later than usual.”

“Oh God, you okay?” Alya asks, frowning. She’d try to comfort him but it’s a little hard to reach him from across her desk. 

“Yeah, do I have to go vandalize some _Gabriel_ billboards or what?” Nino’s eyes narrow further, and Alya and Adrien both know he’s serious. Nino has never tried to hide his disdain for Gabriel Agreste. 

“No, it’s okay, it’s sorted for now,” Adrien waves his hand dismissively. “I’m still all set to hang out this afternoon and that’s all that really matters to me at the moment.”

Sensing that he wants to change the subject, Alya goes along with it. “Yeah, what’ve you boys decided on for an activity?”

“Oh, that’s a secret,” Nino says, Adrien nodding in agreement. 

“What’s a secret?”

The trio turns to find Marinette standing next to them, holding a brown paper bag that is almost certainly filled with pastries from her family’s bakery. She begins handing them out without another word, knowing that they might not have eaten breakfast. 

“The boys won’t tell us what we’re doing after school today,” Alya tells Marinette, her eyes on Nino and Adrien as she takes a bite out of her croissant.

“What? But I hate surprises!” Marinette groans, taking her seat beside Alya. “Whatever this is, it better be good.”

“It is, Mari. You’ll love it, don’t worry.” Adrien says with a wink, sending a smile her way. A _real_ smile, this time.

Marinette barely manages a smile in response as Ms. Bustier strolls into the classroom, asking the students to take out their textbooks and officially starting the school day.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What began as an innocent, lighthearted lunch hour with his friends eventually leaves Adrien wondering how he truly feels about his relationship with Marinette.

The end of the day cannot come any sooner. It’s only lunch, which means that Adrien still has to get through his physics and literature classes before he can have some fun with his friends. He’s just glad that he has Marinette in his physics class, and that he somehow shares literature with all of his friends.

There is still about a half hour left before classes resume, but the group of four have all finished their lunches, so Alya resorts to teasing Marinette. Adrien is only half-listening, still thinking about his argument with his father earlier in the morning, but then he hears his name. Not Adrien Agreste, but Chat Noir.

“What was that about Chat Noir?” Adrien asks, turning his attention back to his friends as he sips the seltzer Nino had packed for them.

“Oh,” Alya mock-gasps, her eyes glinting with something a little too devilish. “Adrien, you didn’t know? Our Marinette over here has the most _massive_ crush on Chat Noir.”

Adrien chokes. Honest to God, he chokes and nearly spits out the seltzer as soon as the words reach his ears. In the pocket of his t-shirt he can feel Plagg laughing at him. _Laughing_. It only adds to the embarrassment he’s already feeling as Alya, Nino, and Marinette stare at him with varying expressions.

“Dude, are you okay?” Nino takes the can of seltzer from his best friend, using his other hand to pat him gently on the back.

“Y-Yeah,” Adrien manages, “I’m good, all good.” Since Weredad, Adrien’s been under the impression that Marinette had gotten over her love for Chat Noir...or whatever all that was. It still confuses him. He doesn’t really want to ask about it during his unplanned nighttime visits to her balcony (which aren’t really as unplanned as he pretends they are).

“Are you sure you’re okay, Adrien?” Marinette’s concerned question brings Adrien back to reality as she frowns at him, now sitting on her knees in apprehension. He nods in response, giving her a little thumbs up and a grin once he’s able to. Marinette relaxes, sitting cross-legged again. “Don’t listen to Alya, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

At this, Alya snorts. “Believe me, girl. I know way more than you think I do.”

 _If only she knew,_ Alya thinks.

“I think that you presume I have a crush on Chat just because he’s my favorite of the superheroes. As if not liking Ladybug the most is some...some crime!” Marinette throws her hands up in frustration, eyebrows furrowing.

“Of course it’s not a crime, it’s just...uncommon,” Alya shrugs. “It’s no secret that Ladybug gets a little more love than Chat Noir.”

“Now that is a crime! Why does Ladybug get all the credit? She couldn’t possibly do what she does without Chat Noir!” Marinette babbles on, shaking her head at nobody in particular. Her friends have heard this speech a thousand and one times before, but every time they do it’s just as passionate as the last time. Her devotion to defending Chat Noir still manages to confuse them. Even Adrien, who understands better than Alya and Nino why she might be inclined to defend him, on account of their hangouts on her balcony.

And even though he’s heard it all a thousand and one times already, Adrien never gets tired of the way Marinette defends him without a second thought. He smiles, trying to ignore how his heart swells at Marinette’s words. “You really think so? She needs him that badly?”

“I don’t think. I _know_.” Marinette says, her tone leaving no room for argument. Adrien doesn’t challenge her, because he values his life, thank you very much—but the temptation to tease her is too great.

“I believe you, Mari,” Adrien nods at her, watching her face soften at his words, “But I’ve gotta say, it does sound like you have a little bit of a crush on Chat Noir.”

Almost as soon as her face has relaxed, Marinette’s expression hardens again. “I do not! So what, he comes over sometimes? We hang out because we’re friends. Very good friends, but just friends all the same!”

“So you’re telling me you guys don’t share blankets and watch the stars together? You don’t have movie marathons? He doesn’t help you with physics homework and compliment your designs and offer to model for you?”

 _Oh, god._ As Alya continues, Adrien is less and less sure of the purpose of his visits with Marinette. He used to tell himself that it was for her benefit—the homework help, the modeling, design suggestions. He could even chalk up some of their less structured hangouts to her having a bad day and him wanting to cheer her up. It was just helping out a friend, right? But the more he thinks about it, the more he realizes that he needs Marinette in his life a lot more than she needs him.

“He does, w-we do, but Alya! That’s platonic!”

“Marinette, you cannot look me in the eyes and tell me that nothing has ever happened between you two to make you question whether or not there's more to what you guys have than just friendship.”

Adrien waits for her to lean forward and say that he’s just a friend.

She doesn’t.

“Babe, I think you should let it go,” Nino breaks the silence as Marinette looks away from Alya, her face tinged red. Nino’s words seem to snap Alya out of it, and the auburn-haired girl leans forward to place a hand on Marinette’s arm.

Adrien feels like he shouldn’t be here for this.

“I’m sorry, Mari, I didn’t mean to push you like that. I should’ve stopped.” Alya bites her lip and sighs. Adrien is oblivious to the glance she sends him, trying to survey his reaction. They both know that she was talking about him, even if he doesn’t realize she knows. He’s too busy looking at anything other than Marinette, trying not to think about what this means for them and their maybe not-so-platonic friendship.

“It’s okay, Als. I know you didn’t mean any harm, we were just joking around and then…” Marinette shakes her head and intertwines her fingers with Alya’s. “I’m just confused. About a lot of things.”

Adrien _really_ feels like he shouldn’t be here for this.

The group then begins packing up their things without another word. He absentmindedly grabs his messenger bag, only one thing on his mind:

_Is Marinette really just a friend to him?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya feels bad (and stressed) over what transpired at lunch, but hopefully whatever the boys have planned will distract everyone...

Alya knows she fucked up. She’s gone too far and now Adrien can’t stop staring at Marinette and she’s a little worried that his pretty little model head might explode, and then Gabriel Agrete would _really_ hate her. More than he already does.

Maybe Marinette couldn’t say that Chat is just a friend and that’s on _her_ , but Alya asked. Alya asked because she knows the feelings are there and maybe she just wanted Marinette to be goddamn _honest_ with herself for once. She had only briefly thought about what it might mean for Adrien, but the moment she looked at him after apologizing to Marinette for pushing her too far, she knew that she had messed up.

Marinette is, miraculously, completely oblivious to the fact that the boy she’s in love with is staring at her. He has been for the entirety of their literature class, and Alya would bet good money that their physics class had been spent much the same way.

The only reason that Alya can come up with for Marinette not looking in Adrien’s direction even once is that she’s too busy thinking about Chat Noir. Who is Adrien. Who is currently gazing at Marinette like he’s confused but also as if she’s the best thing since sliced bread.

It’s making Alya’s head hurt.

She groans quietly, closing her eyes in frustration as she feels a pair of eyes on her. “I’m fine, Mari, don’t look at me like that.”

Marinette’s voice comes out in a whisper, trying not to attract the attention of their teacher. “Your eyes are closed! You can’t even see—”

“Yes, but I know you.” Alya opens one eye and glances over at Marinette, a frown ghosted over her best friend’s lips. “I am _fine_ , there’s no need to worry about me.”

 _In fact_ , she thinks, _I should be the one worrying about you._

Marinette doesn’t seem so convinced. “Are you getting enough sleep?” She asks, poking Alya’s shoulder and leaning closer to her.

“Why is everyone asking about my sleep schedule?” Alya questions with a huff, arms slumped across the table. Nino turns around in his seat to raise his eyebrows at her and she just rolls her eyes, unwilling to deal with this debate right now. Nino getting on her case about her lack of sleep is bad enough, but Marinette? What a nightmare that would be.

“She didn’t sleep last night,” Nino whispers, just loud enough for Marinette to hear him.

And the nightmare begins.

“Alya! You need your sleep!” Marinette whisper-yells, an edge to her voice that wasn’t there before. She’s poking Alya incessantly, attempting to get the auburn-haired girl to look in her direction. “We’ve talked about this!”

“You’re one to talk, girl! You never sleep, to the point where you show up late to school and pass out in class!” Alya retorts, grabbing Marinette’s finger before she can continue her poking.

It really is a miracle they haven’t gotten into trouble with the teacher yet.

“That’s enough, ladies,” Nino says decisively, forcing their attention to him. “You both need to start actually sleeping. And you both need to be quiet so that you don’t land in detention and ruin what Adrien and I have planned.”

Alya grumbles her agreement and refocuses her attention to Adrien, who _still_ cannot keep his eyes off of Marinette. Don’t get her wrong—Alya’s been waiting for this day to come for three years. But now that it has, with more complications than she had ever imagined, she wants this mess to be sorted out as soon as possible. This game isn’t any fun for her, not anymore. Her brain can’t take the mental gymnastics.

The bell signaling the end of class rings just a few minutes later, finally snapping Adrien out of his lovesick daze. The four of them quickly gather their things and head to their lockers, agreeing to meet outside on the front steps once they’re ready to go.

Marinette is bouncing with excitement as she puts everything in her bag, grinning at Alya despite the fact that they had been arguing (if you could even call it that) just a few short minutes ago. Her energy is weird like that, something Alya’s noticed in the years they’ve been best friends. Marinette isn’t someone who holds grudges over the little things.

Once Alya has her belongings straightened out, Marinette slips her arm through Alya’s and drags her towards the staircase so that they can meet the boys. As expected, Nino and Adrien are already waiting for them, and upon arrival they find that Nino is laughing at something Adrien’s said.

“What’s so funny?” Alya asks, happy to see that Adrien is acting somewhat normal again.

“Just some dumb pun about cats Adrien told me. Like, really dumb. It’s not even funny.” Nino shakes his head, but another spurt of laughter bubbles out, leaving his friends to stare at him in amusement.

“Dude, you’re still laughing.” Adrien points out.

“It’s just—it’s so—” Nino lets out another laugh before finding the words. “It’s _so_ dumb.”

“I’m with Nino,” says Marinette. “Cat puns are dumb.”

Adrien gawks at her. “What the hell, Mari? How do you think Chat Noir would feel if he heard you say that?”

At this, she laughs. “He’d probably act all offended and say something like “Princess, how could you attack the core of my being so _violently_?” and be very dramatic about the whole thing.”

Alya’s too busy laughing at Adrien’s shocked expression to even comment on the fact that Chat Noir refers to Marinette as ‘Princess’. Of course he does.

“But then—when Chat Noir puns at you, what do you do? Do you _tell him_ his puns are bad?” If Marinette notices that Adrien’s a little more fired up than he should be, she doesn’t show it. Alya doesn’t know whether to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation or to smack Adrien over the head for asking such a dumb question, one he already knows the answer to.

“His cat puns aren’t bad, Adrien. I never said that.” Marinette clarifies, holding back a giggle. “They’re dumb and silly, but he knows I like them anyways. I like all his puns.” Seeing the way Adrien’s expression morphs into a grin, she narrows her eyes. “Do _not_ tell him I said that. His head will get way too big, and I will never live it down.”

“Don’t worry, Marinette,” Adrien says, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I won’t tell a soul.”

Silence falls upon the four of them as they begin walking, Adrien and Nino leading, seeing as the girls still don’t know where they’re going. It’s not a long walk, 20 minutes at most, but the October air is nipping at their skin and Alya is more than grateful to be in a building with heat again when Nino stops walking and says that they’ve arrived.

The building is unfamiliar, but from the outside it looks like all the other ones in this arrondissement, multiple stories high and the same beige material as every other building on the street. When they step inside, the group is met with dark lighting and loud music. It’s only when Alya and Marinette catch sight of the sign behind the front desk that they realize where they are.

“You’re bringing us paintballing?” Marinette shouts over the music, looking at the boys with wide eyes. “I can’t believe you two,” For a moment, Adrien looks worried, but both Nino and Alya are grinning at the raven-haired girl. “This is the _best_!”

“I’m glad you like it, Mari,” Adrien says with a smile.

“Of course I do!” Marinette says, just the slightest hint of a blush on her cheeks. “But I think you’re gonna regret bringing us here when I crush you.” For emphasis, she squeezes her hands together, causing Nino and Alya to burst out laughing at the way Adrien’s eyes widen.

He’s been witness to Marinette’s competitive streak before. He’s been on the receiving end of her merciless wins, many times—but that was with video games. This is the real world, where Marinette will be capable of inflicting real pain on him.

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

“Oh God,” Adrien mumbles, looking towards Nino. “Did you do this on purpose? Did you suggest this because you _want_ me to die, is that it?”

Nino rolls his eyes. “ _Please_. Nettie can’t kill you with paintballs. Just don’t let her get too close.”

“Too close? Oh my God, I _am_ gonna die,” The blond boy panics, running his hands through his hair. “Of all the ways to go, I never thought it would be _this_! Death by paintball! Death by Marinette!”

“You’re not going to die, Adrien—”

“I might! Just look at her!” Adrien exclaims, gesturing to Marinette, who smiles sweetly at her friends.

“Yes, cause she looks _so_ terrifying.”

“Don’t patronize me, Alya! She’s stronger than she looks!”

“My dude’s got a point here, actually,” says Nino with a laugh. “When we were seven, Kim stole one of her cookies at lunch and Nettie absolutely clobbered him. He was immobile for at least ten minutes.”

“Marinette!” scolds Alya, though she’s struggling not to laugh. The look in her eyes tells Marinette that she’s more proud of her than she is shocked.

“Kim’s fault. He should’ve known not to come between a girl and her cookies.” Marinette merely shrugs, the smile leaving her face.

Adrien’s face loses all its color. “You immobilized KIM? Like, our friend Kim, who is six feet tall and plays three sports?”

“He wasn’t six feet tall then,” Nino points out, then pauses. “Well. He was still twice her size.”

“You are so going to kill me,” Adrien seems resigned to the idea of death, shaking his head back and forth as Marinette’s amusement only grows.

“I can go easy on you,” Marinette offers.

“Somehow, that doesn’t make me feel any better.”

Alya puts her hand on Adrien’s shoulder and gives it a squeeze. “I’ll protect you, Sunshine, don’t you worry.”

“But Als, _I_ was gonna partner with my dude,” says Nino.

“Someone has to keep him from shitting his pants, and it’s certainly not going to be you.” Alya rolls her eyes. “You and Mari will have plenty of fun together. Now can we gear up, or what?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took a bit to get up! i have the reveal written, and i had the last half of this chapter written, but i needed a bridge and that was taking a little longer. 
> 
> i hope you enjoy! if you see any mistakes, don't hesitate to point them out (i did not properly proofread).
> 
> love, emma


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the heat of intense competition, Alya makes a slip-up.

Alya puts her hand on Adrien’s shoulder and guides him around one of the structures, staying as low to the ground as possible. Marinette and Nino are currently winning, because it’s _Marinette_ and not even Adrien can keep up with her fierce competitiveness. Maybe he would, under normal circumstances, but after the conversations he’s been subject to Alya can understand that his head might not entirely be in the game.

She might as well tease him a little more, right?

“Mari sure does look cute today, don’t you think?” She whispers as they duck behind a wall, grinning at Adrien.

The blonde boy scoffs, just slightly, and it’s a reaction she wasn’t expecting. “Of course. Mari always looks cute, but I bet she’ll look even cuter after I beat her.”

Alya resists the urge to laugh. Seems like this kitty doesn’t know how to take defeat from his lady, whether he’s aware it’s her or not. “Oh, Sunshine. It’s nice that you have hope,” she pats him on the shoulder and shakes her head, smiling good-naturedly even though he can’t really see her in the dim lighting. “It’s also nice that you’re pretending that Marinette handing your ass to you doesn’t make you more attracted to her than you already are.”

This time, he splutters, and Alya’s smile splits into a grin. This is the reaction she was expecting. “Alya! She’s pretty, like really pretty but I’m not—I don’t—” He can’t get his words out, can’t even look at Alya. “Everybody likes Marinette!”

“Common knowledge, Adrien, thank you. That wasn’t really a response.”

“Because I’m not going to respond, Alya.”

That’s fair, she thinks.

The sound of Nino whooping joyously fills the air, and then Marinette’s laugh follows, and Alya knows they’re close by. “We should get moving if we want to avoid them,” she whispers, tugging Adrien up next to her. He follows without another word and they run, distancing themselves from the sounds of their opponents. 

But Marinette is quick on her feet, and apparently very, very perceptive. As Alya and Adrien turn a corner, Marinette is there, waiting. Unfortunately for her, she’s not quick enough at raising her laser gun towards them to avoid Adrien barreling into her.

“ _Adrien_ !” She squeaks, now fully aware that they are on the floor and he is _on top of her_. She’s not sure if she’s even breathing anymore.

Adrien rolls off of her quickly, standing up and extending a hand towards her. “Sorry, Marinette! I didn’t see you in time, I—” 

“It’s okay, more my fault than anything,” Marinette cuts him off with a sigh, rubbing her temple. Adrien’s shoulder is very defined, and not the most comfortable to run into, which isn’t all that surprising. 

Alya laughs as the two struggle to regain their bearings, “You idiots. You’d think a little collision would be nothing for Paris’ favorite superhero duo.”

“Hey! It’s not my fault that I don’t get Ladybug’s superhero reflexes out of the suit!”

“And I don’t exactly have Chat’s night vision when I’m just me, Alya!”

And then, silence. 

For an entire minute, nobody speaks. Nino managed to catch up just as Alya was speaking, and is now trying to hide his amusement as Alya smacks her hand over her mouth, eyes wide and apologetic as Marinette and Adrien remain frozen beside each other. 

“I did _not_ mean to say that.” Alya finally says, moving her hand from her mouth. “That was...that was not how I wanted to tell you.”

“Als, how long?” Marinette looks panicked as she rips off her goggles. They fall to the ground, next to her laser gun. She doesn’t dare move, instead opting to stare at Alya until she gets an answer. 

Alya is hesitant to respond. “I’ve known for sure for about a month.” She winces at the way Marinette’s eyes all but pop out of her skull, and she can tell that the raven-haired girl is approximately 3 seconds away from pulling her hair out. 

“How’d you figure it out?” Adrien asks, taking off his own goggles. He doesn’t look nearly as panicked as Marinette does, but Alya can still see the sliver of fear in his eyes. Being a part-time hero hearself, she knows what this means. If she was able to figure it out—who else could’ve?

“You told a joke at patrol the other week that you told again at school the next morning. I was pretty sure it was you before then, but that was my confirmation. You had the same shit-eating grin on your face as you told it, and I knew it wasn’t a coincidence.” Alya admits, giving Adrien a small smile. Then she turns to Marinette, who has been silent since her initial shock. “And Mari, you rolled your eyes and reacted exactly like the night before. You’re our everyday Ladybug, so it wasn’t exactly shocking. What _is_ shocking is how you two didn’t figure each other out first.”

The two nod absently at her answer. It makes sense. The Miraculous magic is supposed to be strong enough to protect them from a situation like this, but with Alya being close to them in and out of the suit, it’s believable that the smallest slip-up could expose them. After all, this is _Alya_ , the girl who figured out that Nino is Carapace in less than a minute.

“Nino? Why are you so quiet?” Adrien looks to his best friend. “Aren’t you a little surprised?”

“Dude...I’ve known for like, a year.” 

“What? How did you figure it out before me?” Alya gasps, turning to her boyfriend. 

Nino shrugs, like it’s nothing. “I’ve known Marinette since we were in diapers, and she is the only person in Paris who would give Chloé Bourgeois that many chances despite having such an obvious dislike for her. I could tell that you picked us—and her—because you truly trusted us, and that trust had to have come from somewhere. It had to be you, Nettie.” He’s grinning at Marinette now, and despite the gravity of the situation, she grins back. It comforts her to know that he didn’t figure it out because she screwed up. Unless you count giving Miraculouses to your two best friends screwing up, which maybe some people would, but it could’ve been worse. Much worse.

As Adrien looks like he’s about to ask another question, Nino continues. “Once I realized that, I also knew there was only one person who could work with Ladybug that well. You guys are like that outside of the suit, too, whether you see it or not. And the puns, dude.” Nino laughs. “The only person who uses cat puns as much as Chat Noir is you, so naturally…” 

Adrien starts to laugh at this, some of the tension leaving him when he realizes that his friends aren’t upset, or shocked, and he doesn’t need to explain anything to them. 

Marinette turns to him then, trying to reconcile the fact that Adrien and Chat Noir are one in the same. As he stands before her, laughing genuinely, she realizes that it’s an awfully familiar sight. _This is definitely my kitty_ , she thinks. “Why do you change your hair?” She takes a step closer to him, careful not to trip over her fallen paintball gun. 

“What do you mean?” Adrien’s laughter dies down quickly as he looks at Marinette. He too seems to be realizing for the first time that this isn’t just Marinette, his best friend and favorite civilian, this is his _partner_ , his lady.

“Your hair is messier as Chat.”

“I don’t do it on purpose, that’s just what happened the first time I transformed and I liked it.”

Marinette hums, stepping even closer to him, and reaches her hand up to mess up his hair. His cheeks flush at her proximity, and he looks down at her with wide eyes as she steps back and nods once. 

“Marinette…”

“The Chat hair suits you better. You’re a lot more relaxed and happy. I prefer it when you’re happy.”

Seeing the heart eyes Adrien’s making at Marinette, Nino grabs his girlfriend’s arm and pulls her away to give the two some privacy. Alya lets out a little huff as she’s dragged away, because she’s waited three incredibly long years for this, but she knows it’s for the best and she doesn’t want to ruin this moment for them any more than she already has. 

She can only hope that something good comes out of this fuck-up of a reveal.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here it is folks! there's at least one part left (maybe two, we'll see)
> 
> for some reason, i really like the idea of alya discovering adrien before she does marinette and nino discovering marinette's identity before adrien's. maybe it's cause i'm a sucker for platonic alyadrien and ninette, but i adore those friendships and i could see it working out that way.
> 
> hope you enjoyed!!
> 
> emma


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien finally talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI HI HI i'm sorry this took so long! i hated how i wrote this chapter initially and lost interest, but got a random burst of inspiration this week and rewrote the whole section. i'm happy with it now but i'm probably gonna go back and edit/rewrite all the other parts too. i hope you guys enjoy, and thank you for reading!

Marinette is surprised that she’s managed to keep it together for the past two minutes. Okay, maybe her initial reaction wasn’t the most composed—can anyone blame her? It’s a miracle she hasn’t had a full-on freak out (she knows that’s mostly the shock preventing it from happening, because later in her room, she will be screaming into her pillow for at least an hour).

Though she's very close to losing her mind with the way Adrien is staring at her now, the look in his eyes something fond, more tender than any look she remembers receiving from him as either her civilian self or Ladybug. Her heart is literally seven seconds away from jumping out of her chest, so she decides she can’t take any more of this and breaks eye contact.

“Kitty,” she says quietly, “are you going to say anything?”

“I’m planning on it,” he assures her. She thinks she hears a hint of a smile in his voice, somewhat teasing, and she manages to glance at him to find that he is indeed smiling at her. “Just trying to find the right words to say, you know? I don’t want to mess this up.”

Marinette’s eyebrows raise at this. “Mess what up? We both already know, I don’t know what—”

“Mari.”

Her eyes snap up, and there it is again, that soft smile and amused glint in his eyes. He looks so much like Chat for a moment, and not for the first time in the past few minutes, she wonders how she could’ve been so oblivious to what was right in front of her. The signs had always been there.

“Yes?”

“I know you. And I know you’re about to short-circuit or something, so I don’t want to overwhelm you or anything,” His hands rest on his hips, head tilted as he looks at her. “But there are a few things I really need to say to you. Is that okay?”

 _Oh boy_. It doesn’t sound bad. It’s Chat, her Chat, so if something’s wrong he would’ve just said it already, but she can’t help the way her heartbeat picks up even more. _Huh. Didn’t know that was even possible, at this point._

She doesn’t trust herself to speak, so she gives him a nod.

“Alright. Firstly, I want you to stop blaming yourself. You didn’t do anything wrong, you didn’t put anyone in danger. It makes sense that Alya and Nino would figure it out, given how well they know us, and—”

“But we didn’t figure it out.” Marinette interrupts, frowning.

“Actually—” Adrien pauses. “I did, one day at school. Kwamibuster. I was so convinced it was you, and not even Plagg could tell me otherwise but then—”

“I was Multimouse.”

“Yeah.”

She’s not sure how to feel, knowing that Adrien almost figured it out years ago. Kwamibuster was nearly three entire years ago—could they have known each other’s identities this whole time?

“That..was a long time ago.”

“It was,” he agrees. “But you were very convincing, so I guess I had you ruled out after that. And eventually I stopped trying to figure it out, cause I knew it would just hurt us both in the end if we couldn’t…”

He trails off, unable to finish voicing his thought, but she hears it all the same.

_If we couldn’t defeat Hawkmoth and get to know each other outside of the suits._

“I’m sorry for being so strict about the identities,” Marinette blurts, now imagining what it would’ve been like, had something happened to her and Chat without them knowing each other. The very thought nearly brings tears to her eyes.

“What? No, don’t be sorry!” Adrien puts his hands on her shoulders, grounding her. “Marinette, you were right to do that. It was unsafe. I was selfish, and I know that now. You were doing your job. Which you’re really good at, I also wanted to say.”

“I don’t think you’re capable of being selfish, kitty,” says Marinette with a shake of her head.

His grin is blinding. “That means the world coming from you fo all people, bug,”

 _Oh_. Oh, no. She’s blushing. She can feel it, the heat creeping up her neck and flooding her cheeks as she goes rigid under his touch. His hands, still gripping her shoulders, give an encouraging squeeze and he doesn’t take his eyes off of her.

“Is that all I had to do to win you over? Compliment you and use your nicknames outside of the suit?”

“Adri—do _not_ get cheeky with me right now!” She swats at his chest and he giggles, hands slipping from her shoulders before he lifts them up again. This time, they find a home on her face, cupping her cheeks and brushing aside her bangs.

“Sorry,” His smile is going to be the death of her. “I couldn’t help it.”

“Maybe I can forgive you if you get on with what you were saying,” Marinette concedes, trying to keep her expression neutral despite the fact that her inner thoughts are anything but. Her mind is one big mush of soft hands and _Adrien, Chat, Adrien, Chat_ so she’s thankful she’s able to spit out coherent sentences.

If he’s aware of the inner strife he’s causing her right now, Adrien shows no signs of it. “Right, yeah. Quit blaming yourself, okay? And don’t give me that look. I know you. I know how you think.”

“Useful in fights, but horrible for me every other time,” Marinette murmurs to herself, apparently loud enough for him to hear because he lets out a loud laugh. “Don’t laugh at me, you overgrown feline!”

“Oh, Princess. That’s a new one. Not sure how I feel about it yet,” His face contorts, but his eyes are still smiling so she knows he likes the teasing. “Anyways. The other thing I wanted to talk about was us.”

Marinette is now hyper-aware of the warm hands pressed against her cheeks, gently forcing her to maintain eye contact. Her eyes widen involuntarily as she squeaks, “Us?”

“Us.” Adrien nods in affirmation. He taps one of his fingers against her cheek once, twice. “Me, you. You and me. You know.”

She forgets her flusteredness for a moment, because _kwami help her_ if Adrien isn’t the most ridiculous and irritating person she knows. “I know who the ‘us’ referred to, Adrien.” Marinette wants to roll her eyes, _badly_ , and she knows he’s well aware of it.

He merely smiles, unbothered by the tone of her response. “Ah, good. I think we should discuss what this means for us? I mean, it doesn’t have to mean anything. But I want us to be honest with each other now that we can be, and well, you know how I feel about you.”

Adrien speaks with such certainty that it confuses her. She’s well aware that she’s his best friend and they get along great. But the way he says and the way he’s been looking at her this whole time make her think there’s more to it than that. “I mean, we’re partners. I know that, but—” The look he gives her then tells her that _yes, there’s more to it than that_. “I’m starting to understand you mean something different, but I don’t know what.”

“Marinette,” he starts, bewildered. “I’ve only told you that I’m in love with you at least a hundred times over the past few years.”

Her eyes blow wide at that. _Present tense,_ she thinks. _I’m in love with you._

“I thought you stopped a long time ago. And you never liked Marinette.”

“And how would you know that? It’s not like I ever told you,” Adrien scrunches his eyebrows, and then his smile is back, although slightly dimmer than before. “I’ve always adored you, all of you, I just didn’t know it _was_ you.”

She’s torn between screaming, fainting, and proposing right here, right now. Marinette thinks that this time, her brain really has stopped working, because she doesn’t do any of that. Instead, she says, “Cool.”

Adrien doesn’t even try to hide the fact that he’s biting back laughter. “Okay, milady.” He pats her face gently, this time with his whole hand, and Marinette really needs this to stop before she just dies. She considers, for a moment, that Alya may have planned this, but then again she looked far too guilty about outing them for that to be the case.

The silence stretches on for a few more moments and then Adrien exhales. “I just wanted you to know that. Like I said, it doesn’t have to mean anything and I’ve always known you don’t feel the same, so—” Almost reluctantly, he retracts his hands. Marinette grabs them again before she can think, intertwining one with her own and pressing the other against her cheek, exactly as it was before.

“Stupid cat, how would you know that?” She says, throwing his words from earlier back at him. “Do you honestly think I’d let you get this close to me if I wasn’t stupidly in love with you?”

“ _Stupidly_ in love? Is that meant to be an insult of some sort?”

“Oh my god, you’re missing the point,” Marinette groans. “I have had a crush on you since you gave me your umbrella, and I fell in love with you as Chat when we were fifteen and you died in my arms for the millionth time. I realized then that I didn’t feel guilt over not being able to save you, but regret over never getting the chance to tell you what you meant to me.” Her gaze falls to the floor as she remembers that particular battle. It had been hard, harder than most. “I was on autopilot after that. It felt like I was holding my breath until I set everything right and you appeared, exactly where you’d left me. So yeah, I’m in love with you and I don’t want you doubting that when I’ve been a blushing mess this whole time—are you crying?”

She looks up again, to see Adrien staring down at her with tears pooling in his eyes.

“No,” he says, but it comes out more like a croak. “But I’m about to be.”

It hits her then, that this is Adrien Agreste, her friend and partner who is touch starved and lives in an empty home nearly void of love. So for her to be standing here, confessing her love to him and telling him how much he means to her...it must be a lot.

“Come here, kitty,” Marinette’s voice lowers to a whisper as she releases his hands, wrapping them instead around his torso and pulling him into the tightest hug she can without losing her ability to breathe. “Sorry if that was too much all at once. I didn’t think, I just wanted you to know that what you feel isn’t one-sided.”

His face is pressed against the top of her head. “Don’t be sorry. It wasn’t too much,” Adrien assures her. “It was perfect. I think I needed to hear it, I just wasn’t expecting to.”

Marinette’s heart squeezes. She loves him so, so much.

“You’re gonna hear it a lot now, if that’s okay with you.”

“More than okay.”

“Good. I love you.”

Adrien pulls back, wipes away one stray tear, and grins at her. “I love you, too.” He leans forward, hands somewhere around Marinette’s waist, and presses a kiss to her forehead. “We can talk more about this later, at patrol? I think we should get back to Alya and Nino before Alya combusts from anticipation and fear that she screwed things up for us.”

Marinette smiles, the ghost of lips against her skin still lingering. “Good call. I guess we have to thank her, anyways.”

They’re not sure how long they’ve been alone, but when they exit the doors and find Nino trying to calm down a pacing Alya, both Adrien and Marinette wonder if she’s just being dramatic or if they really were talking for that long.

Adrien clears his throat, effectively drawing their attention, and Alya’s eyes snap up immediately.

“Oh thank _god_ ,” she wails, rushing forward and throwing her arms around both of them. “Is everything okay? Please tell me something good came from that. I think I’ll die of shame otherwise.”

“I’d say very good,” Adrien says, “considering the girl I’ve been in love with for years said she loves me back.”

Alya’s face morphs into a grin and she steers her gaze towards Marinette. “You did? Oh, girl, I’m so proud. And sorry! But not as sorry as I would’ve been if things didn’t go well.”

Marinette rolls her eyes. “You don’t have to be sorry. I should thank you, actually, because I don’t know when or if that conversation would’ve happened otherwise.”

“Oh, so you were just planning on depriving me of your love forever? That’s how this was going to work?” Adrien crosses his arms and frowns at her.

“Don’t be like that. I could still throw you off of the Eiffel Tower, Adrien.”

“What, as a civilian?”

“Of course. And I’ll do it right now, too.”

“I’d prefer if you let me take you on a date first, but after that, feel free to display your ridiculously attractive strength however you choose. I won’t complain.”

 _What the fuck_ , Marinette thinks. She’s not sure how in the past few minutes he transitioned from being on the verge of tears to shamelessly flirting with her in front of their best friends, but she doesn’t like it. The blush working its face up her face and neck this time is worse than all the other ones from earlier. She can feel it.

“I’m going home,” Marinette says, as calmly as she can manage, “And then I’m going to scream for a very long time. Alya and Nino, I’ll call you. Adrien, I'll see you tonight at patrol.”

With that, she turns on her heel and strides towards the exact, ignoring Alya and Nino’s snickers as best as she can.

“Mari, wait, let me walk you home!” Adrien calls after her, following her back into the streets of Paris.

Nino turns to his girlfriend, unable to hold back his grin. “Well, babe. I know that was an accident and all, but it worked out pretty well, huh?”

“Yeah,” Alya agrees, arm wrapped around Nino’s bicep. “They better name their firstborn after me or I’m going to be seriously bitter.”

“I think we should settle for the title of godparents,” Nino says, as they too walk out of the building. “You know Marinette’s had their kids’ names picked out for ages.”

Alya sighs. “Oh, you’re right. Whatever. I’m too happy for them to care right now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading! kudos and comments are always appreciated. i hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. stay tuned for possible edits and rewrites! and, if you're interested, i have several haikyuu fics and one shots in the works (as it is my latest hyperfixation) and there may be some my hero academia in the future. 
> 
> thank you again for the love,
> 
> emma


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